The demand for a new constitution by some eminent Nigerians as the way to halt the raging insecurity and socio-economic crises and redirect Nigeria on the path of growth and development dominates the headlines of Nigerian newspapers on Tuesday.
The Vanguard newspaper reports that to halt the raging insecurity and socio-economic crises, and redirect Nigeria on the path of growth and development, there is an urgent need to do away with the 1999 constitution and give Nigeria a new people’s constitution.
This was the consensus of elder statesmen, some serving lawmakers, political leaders and lawyers who converged on Lagos, yesterday, for a National Constitutional Dialogue organised by The Patriots, a group of eminent Nigerians and elders in honour of late legal luminary, Professor Ben Nwabueze, SAN.
Themed: “Lawful Procedures For Actualising A People’s Constitution for Nigeria,” the event was to also mark the 10th anniversary of the convocation of the 2014 National Conference, which was set up by former President Goodluck Jonathan on March 17, 2014.
Eminent Nigerians who spoke at the colourful event include Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos; Chairman of The Patriots and former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku; Afenifere Leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo; former External Affairs Minister, Senator Ike Nwachukwu; former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah; and legal icon, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN.
Others who shared their thoughts include elder statesmen, Professor Anya O Anya, and Chief Solomon Asemota, SAN. Senator Aminu Tambuwal, Senator Gbenga Daniel, Chief Olabode George, former governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), James Ibori (Delta), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Donald Duke (Cross River), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Dr Kalu Idika Kalu, Dr Tunji Abayomi, Alhaji Yerima Shettima and Chief Ifeyinwa Ezenwa, a 2014 confab delegate.
Chaired by Chief Anyaoku, the event was attended by a host of 2014 confab delegates who lamented the recurring wastage of billions of naira on constitution amendments by the National Assembly and sought an end to the unending exercises without commensurate results.
Indeed, Governor Sanwo-Olu, who lamented that he did not know why some leaders at the Presidency make 360 degrees turn on issues they canvassed at the state level in the past, promised to collaborate with The Patriots and other stakeholders to ensure true federalism. The governor added that he did not understand why a federal agency in Abuja should be telling Lagosians what happens on the shoreline of Ozumba Mbadiwe.
The newspaper says that terrorists abducted no fewer than 87 women, children, and others in a fresh attack on the Kajuru Station community in Kaduna State on Sunday night.
The community has been thrown into confusion and fear. Some residents were seen today, Monday, relocating due to fear of further attacks.
Kajuru has suffered several attacks in recent times, and some locals are still in captivity.
Speaking to journalists, an official of the Kaduna Kajuru-Station Youths, Harisu Dari, said the terrorists attacked at about 10 p.m. on Sunday.
He said they broke into some shops to steal food and other provisions.
According to Dari, “Two days ago, 15 women and a man were abducted in the Dogon-Noma community of Kajuru.
“For now, there is no contact yet with the 87 persons abducted on Sunday night.
“As of the time I visited the community this morning, security operatives have not been drafted to help restore the confidence of the villagers.
“The villagers are traumatised by the sad development. The government needs to re-strategise in tackling these terrorists,” Dari said.
The Punch reports that the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria has said voice and data services affected by the cut in the undersea fibre optics along the coasts of Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal will be completely restored on Tuesday (today).
The Chairman of ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo, made this disclosure in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH on Monday.
Last Thursday, cuts in the undersea cable supplying broadband Internet connectivity to Nigeria and countries in the West African sub-region forced many banks, financial institutions, telecom companies, and allied firms to scale down their operations.
The cable companies affected include the West African Cable System and African Coast to Europe on the West Coast route from Europe, both of which have experienced faults. Additionally, SAT3 and MainOne have reported downtime due to the cable cut.
Over the weekend, the telcos, banks, and other financial institutions rerouted their traffic to alternative service providers in a move to mitigate the impact of the disruption. While some providers had confirmed the gradual restoration of services, others were still in the process of migration, leading to ongoing delays and congestion.
On Monday, the Nigerian Communications Commission announced in a statement that services had been restored to approximately 90 per cent of their peak utilisation capacities.
The newspaper says that the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria have projected a marginal reduction in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, produced from the Port Harcourt Refining Company once the plant begins operations next month.
IPMAN and MEMAN also declared their readiness to load products from the facility, as they urged the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to fulfill its promise of pumping put refined products from the plant in two weeks time.
On Friday, The PUNCH reported that the Group Managing Director, NNPCL, Mele Kyari, announced that the Port Harcourt refinery would commence operations in about two weeks time.
Kyari, who appeared before the Senate Ad-hoc Committee investigating the various Turn Around Maintenance projects of refineries, revealed that mechanical works had been completed on the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries, stressing that the Kaduna refinery would commence operations in December.
“We did a mechanical completion of the (Port Harcourt) refinery, that was what we said in December. We now have crude oil already stocked in the refinery. We are doing regulatory compliance tests that must happen in every refinery before you start it, and I assure you that this Port Harcourt refinery will start in the next two weeks.
“Completing the mechanical work means that you are done with the rehabilitation work, now you have to test to see how it works. Of course, we have also completed the mechanical work on the Warri refinery.
“It is also undergoing regulatory compliance; processes that we are doing with our regulator, and this will soon be completed and it will be ready. The Kaduna refinery will be ready by December. We have not reached that stage in Kaduna, but we promise Kaduna will be delivered by December,” Kyari had explained.
GIK/APA